Yakko's world
by frecleface
Summary: Yakko Warner tells us how insanly hard it was to rehearse, learn and record the 2minute long 'Nations of the world' sketch


**YAKKO'S WORLD**

'United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Haiti, Jamaica, Peru,

Republic Dominican, Cuba, Caribbean, Greenland, El Salvador too . . . '

Do those lines sound familiar to you? Of course they do. You must have heard them at least once, or twice without noticing. They seem pretty easy to learn, but I can tell you, they're definitely NOT as easy as they look.

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Confused? Don't worry. When I saw the lines myself, I totally freaked out too. You see, the producers gave me a script and told me I only had two weeks to rehearse.

"Two weeks?!" I said. "There's no way I'll ever have it good by then!"

"Well, let's face it, Yakko," said one of the producers/writers. "You've always been able to talk fast, and it's about time you show that to America."

And so, I went to the water tower to read the script. Wakko and Dot had a look at it too, and they were about as surprised I was.

"I never thought I'd say this, Yakko, but I don't think even YOU are able to pull this off," said Wakko when he was done reading. "I mean, two weeks? That's about the you need to learn the storyline of an episode."

"Since when has one of our episodes ever had a storyline?" Dot pointed out. "Besides, I'm sure you can do this, Yakko. You just need to practise a lot more than you usually do."

"Well, at least someone's supportive," I said as Wakko handed me the script again. "I guess I'll have to have a look at this thing. Later."

I sat down on my bed and read the script. On the top, it read: 'Nations of the world – sung to the tune of "The Mexican hat-dance" by Yakko Warner'.

"You've got to be kidding me!" I yelled up loud. 'The Mexican hat-dance' is hard enough to just hum, but I had to sing about the world to that tune. But the worst thought was that the song was to be sped up after each verse. Sure, I was known for my non-stop-fast-talking mouth, but this was just plain stupid!

'Norway and Sweden and Iceland and Finland and Germany, now one piece,

Switzerland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Turkey and Greece'

How the heck was I supposed to memorize all this? I wanted to give up and throw the script away, but I figured that the producers would just print a new one. So I kept reading.

'Poland, Romania, Scotland, Albania, Ireland, Russia, Oman,

Bulgaria, Saudi-Arabia, Hungary, Cyprus, Iraq and Iran'

_This is impossible, _I thought. _I'm bound to get my tongue twisted._

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For the next few days, I was making Dot and Wakko hold the script while I tried to sing what I remembered. Dot had even asked one of the producers for a karaoke version of the song, so I would know exactly when to speed up.

"Okay. First verse one more time before lunch," said Wakko. "You ready?"

"Hit it," I said, and took a deep breath before Dot pressed 'Play'. The tune went on for a few seconds, and then I began:

"United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Haiti, Jamaica, Peru,

Republic Dominican, Cuba, Caribbean, Greenland, El Salvador too.

Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela, Honduras, Guyana, and still.

Guatemala, Bolivia, then Argentina, and Ecuador, Chile, Brazil.

Costa Rica, Belize, Nicaragua, Bermuda, Bahamas, Tobago, San Juan,

Paraguay, Uruguay, Suriname, and French Guiana, Barbados and Guam."

I was exhausted, but I had pulled off the first verse without getting tongue-twisted. I was improving!

"That was awesome, Yakko!" said Dot and clapped her hands. "Are you all right? You didn't seem to have much time too breathe."

"Yeah, I'm good," I said. "I'm just a little thirsty. All this rehearsing is making my throat dry."

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Only a week before recording, I had almost gotten the whole song memorized. I was just a little unsure when it came to the Africa-part, the fastest one. But just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I learned that while singing, I was supposed to point at each country. That idea had been too good to let it pass by. But it was WAY too hard for me.

So, when I had finally learned the song, it was time to get a map, and a stick or something that I could point with.

"Are you kidding?" Dot and Wakko said in unison when I told them about it.

"What do they think you are? Some kind of super-creature?" said Dot. "Learning the lyrics and singing them must have been hard enough, but when this is added to it . . . I'm sorry Yakko, but I'm not sure about you being able to do this anymore."

"I never was," I said. "But I did manage to sing it, so I'm going to learn the map thing too!"

"There's only a week before recording!" Wakko said loudly. "You don't have enough time!"

"Wakko, chill," I said. "You're not the one in this pickle, so just calm down."

"You're right, sorry," said Wakko, a little less stressed. "I'm just so nervous for you."

"Thanks, bro," I said and smiled. "I appreciate that. Besides, I'm going to need all the help I can get, and that's you and Dot."

This whole thing was getting to my head. I didn't even realize how sentimental I was! But luckily, neither did Dot and Wakko.

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Finally, I was able to navigate every single country in the song, while singing at maximum speed. It was a great feeling. I had achieved something I never thought I'd be able to do.

Anyway, it was time to record. I was given a hat to look smarter, but it only made me felt dumber. I actually looked like a teacher! Disgusting!

I stepped into the set. There was nothing there except a huge map as a background. Part of it was blue-screen though. The floor was too. But that wasn't my concern. I had to focus on getting my act right.

"All right, Yakko," said the director. "I want you to hop on the set from above and then the playback begins. Got that?"

I couldn't believe how nervous I was! I had probably never shaken so much before a take! Well, then again, I hadn't recorded many sketches, but it was still stressing!

I soon heard my cue: "And now, the nations of the world. Brought to you by: Yakko Warner!"

When he said 'Yakko Warner', I jumped on the set, and then the playback started. All I could do was wiggle with the rhythm before I could start singing. But wait!

"ARGH! I forgot the stupid pointer!"

"Cut!"

I went backstage to get the pointer. Only a few seconds were recorded. How could I have screwed up so soon?

"Ready? And . . . action!"

I jumped on the set after my cue, and this time, I actually started singing too.

"United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Haiti, Jamaica, Peru,

Reprublic Dominican-- "

"Cut!"

Rats! I didn't say 'Republic'! I soon realized that this was going to be a LONG day . . .

Eventually, I got the America-part right. But I had Europe, Asia, AND Africa left! I never thought this was going to take such a long time. I mean, when I was rehearsing with Wakko and Dot, it all came out fine. But when I was recording, I always screwed up every ten seconds. It was driving me crazy! I just wanted to get it over with!

"Action!"

"Norway and Sweden and Iceland and Finland and Germany, now one piece, Switzerland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Turkey and Greece."

That's how I went on. Every time the director said 'Cut!', I was relieved. My mouth was actually aching! And people knew me as "The Yakker". What would they think now?

"India, Pakistan, Burma, Afghanistan, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan, Kampuchea, Malaysia and Bangladesh, Asia and China, Korea, Japan."

I was slowly making a success. I was getting the hang of it. But I still had the hardest part left: Africa.

"Burundi, Lesotho and Malawi, Togo, the Spanish Sahara is gone, Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Liberia, Egypt, Benin and Gabon."

Soon, it would all be over. But as the last part grew nearer, I suddenly became more nervous than ever! I just couldn't get the very last line right!

"Crete, Mauritania then Transylvania, Monaco, Liechtenstein, Malta and . . . uuh . . . "

"Cut!"

I tried again: "Crete, Mauritania then Transylvania, Monacro-- "

"Cut!"

The pressure was overwhelming. "Crete, Mauritania then Transylvania, Monaco, Liechtensreen-- "

"Cut!"

God! What was wrong with me? "Crete, Mauritania then Transnylvania-- "

"Cut!"

I couldn't take it anymore. I let myself fall to the ground; the hat fell off my head and the pointer slipped out of my hand. Why was it ME that was failing? Why couldn't it have been the props? Or the camera? Or the background? Just anything else than me, just for ONE lousy take! Or better yet: nothing failing!

"Yakko, are you okay?" I heard the director say.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I lied. "Can I go out for some fresh air before we continue?"

"Sure thing," said the director. "Hey, give the guy something to drink too!"

I went outside with a water bottle with me. I had never failed so many times in one sketch. And it was a total of, what? One minute and 47 seconds! Maybe it was because of all the swirls and twists and extra dance-like moves they were making me do. I hadn't practised those, now had I? But, on the other hand, that wasn't normally a problem. And talking was my specialty! I took a big gulp of water and stormed back inside.

"Okay. Now that we've got our geography teacher again, let's finish this baby!" said the director as soon as he saw me.

"Listen, can I make a demand?" I said. I was going to ask the most idiotic question ever. "Just ONE more take. I know I'm able to do this. Just one take of the last line."

The director gave me a look, but then agreed. I went on set again, and they rolled the camera. After my little thinking outside, I knew that I should be able to do it in just one take. The result was, in lighting fast speed:

"Crete, Mauritania then Transylvania, Monaco, Liechtenstein, Malta and Palestine, Fiji, Australia, Sudan!"

I was so surprised; I completely froze. I didn't even fall on my knees from exhaustion or anything. I just stood there, while the crew applauded.

I had done it! I had sung 'Nations of the world'! It had taken a long time, but now, when it was over, it didn't feel so long at all. In fact, I even felt like doing another one like that any time soon.

"Great job, Yakko," said the director. "I always knew you could do this."

"Thanks," I said. "When is it going to be ready?"

"We're planning to premiere the sketch tomorrow," said the director. "It won't take much time to edit."

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Dot, Wakko and I were sitting in a tiny movie theatre along with the rest of the 'Animaniacs' cast and crew, just waiting to see my sketch, and only that.

"Everyone excited?" said someone behind us.

"Just play it already, sheesh!" said Slappy.

The lights were turned out and everyone in the room went silent, as the sketch started.

"And now, the nations of the world. Brought to you by: Yakko Warner!"

When I saw the very first seconds of myself on-screen, I noticed that the editors had used the clip where I forgot the pointer, so it just appeared in my hand in the next shot. It was fun to see.

The whole thing was fun to see. An almost two-minute-long sketch which had taken almost a day to record. And it was a funny one too.

When it was over, everyone stood up and cheered. Wakko told me to stand up, and Dot made me bow. I was really proud of myself. Just like everyone else.

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Right before the episode with the 'Nations of the world' sketch was to be premiered, one of the producers told me to meet with him. If I had known how short that meeting would be, I'd told him to just say it over the phone, but I still showed up at his office.

"So, what's up?" I said.

"Well, you know how your 'Nations' sketch is popular, right?" he said. "Well, I had this idea. Even if there's a voice that says: 'The Nations of the world', I was thinking of renaming it. What do you think?"

"Sounds like a plan," I said. "What did you have in mind?"

"Here's the idea," said the producer. "When the sketch starts, a little ribbon will unfold at the bottom of the screen and hold the title: 'Yakko's world'. What do you say?"

I gave it a short thought. "Yakko's world, huh? I like that! Sounds great!"

"Alrighty!" said he producer. "This sketch will from now on be known as 'Yakko's world'!"

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Yup. That's how this little sketch became what it is. And if I'm not mistaking, it's still a famous number. At least to those who remember it . . .


End file.
